One Moment in Time
by depression76
Summary: Kaioh Michiru,the girl who'd never fell in love,finally finds that perfect 'someone' she want to spend the rest of her life with. but-wait-she'd fallen in love with a GHOST?
1. Lost in the Moment

**ONE MOMENT IN TIME**

* * *

**Author's notes:**So I got bored one afternoon and instead of updating my other fics, an idea of recycling an abandoned idea appeared in my head and walla- here it is all done. Maybe some of you find this familiar b'coz maybe a year ago I wrote a fic pretty much like this one, but that one's erased and this is a brand new story by any means. Okay, enough rambling. Enjoy! And it's un-beta'ed btw, so…hang in there!

**Disclaimer:**If I own SM I would've created a brand new season starring Haruka and Michiru as the main characters and PGSM 2nd season made for Rei and Minako. *sigh* such wishful thinking…

* * *

She was a girl who pretty much has everything.

She was what every living girl ever wanted to be.

She was what every guy, maybe even some women, wanted for a soul mate.

She was what every parent wanted to have as a perfect daughter.

She was a strikingly beautiful young lady, filthy rich in her late teens and world-famous for doing something she loved.

Yet this girl wasn't happy. She was not content with her life.

Something was clearly missing.

She has something that she'd been dreaming of since she was little.

Kaioh Michiru wants love.

Yes, people might scoff if they hear her saying that out loud.

Why do you ask?

Because, being who she is, Michiru had lots and lots of people throwing themselves to her feet, asking for her hand in marriage. She was tired of it, maybe sick of it at some point when some random people declared their undying love for her when she's in a rush to the public toilet.

Her mom and dad didn't help either, for they kept setting her up with some people thy claimed to have known but in fact were the sons/daughters of their business colleagues. To be honest, Michiru appreciated their effort, but she'd appreciate it more if they'd just keep their nose out of her problem, saying it bluntly.

In her 19 years of living, Kaioh Michiru did not know the meaning of love.

Oh, she knew what it _means _literally of course, having looking it up on the oxford dictionary randomly one day, what she meant was she didn't know what it means to 'fall in love'.

Her friends said love was the quick racing of the heart you have when you're near that special someone.

Michiru pondered about this. She'd once almost suffered from a heart attack when her violin came close to her one time.

But that was because she was afraid of her asthma acting up since the man had been smoking.

She'd given up asking her friend's advice from then on, and since then she'd set herself on a quest to find the meaning of love.

No one knows about it, of course. Her folks will die of laughter if they hear her saying this.

And thus the thought of herself finally falling in love was the only thought that ran in her mind when she woke up in the middle of the night one day and finding herself face-to-face with a handsome transparent spirit floating above her body, gazing down at her.

She was petrified to her very core.

Not because of having a ghost staring straight at her.

But because of the fact that the spirit's mesmerizing emerald eyes had totally captivated her to the point that she'd completely forgotten that this is a ghost she's staring at and find herself falling helplessly in love with this handsome being.

"_Yo," _the handsome being grinned at her, snapping Michiru out of her stupor as she realized that the being's voice echoed clearly in her mind _"good evening."_

And right now for the first time ever, Kaioh Michiru completely ran out of words.

* * *

**A/N:**alright, it's short. I know- wait don't hit me with those baseball bats!!! I just wanted to know what you guys think before continuing, so leave a review or anything and tell me what you think. I also welcome flames as I am in need of those to start a barbeque -stomach growling- XD.


	2. The Knight and The Princess

**ONE MOMENT IN TIME

* * *

**

**Author's notes:**First of all, sorry for the late update! Preparing for an art show and a massive move to the U.S. took my time other then college life. This chapter was left on my laptop since Christmas and I finally found the time to upload it. And I know it's random, but is it possible to make a movie adaptation of a fanfic? I wonder…And this is not beta'ed. I'm looking for a beta btw –nudge nudge-. Anyone interested?

**Disclaimer:**Still not mine…yet.

* * *

Ahh. How she loved morning tea. The feeling of warm, tasty liquid pours down her throat. It sends tingles to the tip of her toes.

The fresh smell of chamomile filled her nostrils, the aqua haired girl let out a contented sigh as she put the brim of the full cup to her lips, blowing on it softly.

Life is just wonderf-

A pair of pale hands shot up through the table, grabbing violinist's wrists firmly and all systems in the girl's body ceased functions.

A pair of blue orbs widened in shock as a pale blonde head protrudes through the table, eyes rolling at the back of the head, the corner of the spirit's mouth turned up in a malicious smirk as an eerie, cackling laugh rang Michiru's ears.

"_Come with me to heeeeeeelll…." _Red, transparent blood started leaking out from the eyes, ears, and nose and at the corner of the spirit's mouth.

The violinist snapped.

A loud, shrill cry filled the entire Kaioh household in the once peaceful Saturday morning.

* * *

O.O

* * *

"_Ahahahahahahahaahahahahhhhaaaahahahahahhahhahhahhahhhaaaaaaa…" _The good-looking spirit rolled around in laughter in mid air. Silvery tears leak out at the corners of those eyes as the spirit practically turned upside down, still laughing like there's no tomorrow.

Michiru puckers her lips in annoyance and embarrassment and sent a heated glare at the still-laughing apparition. The usually calm violinist had raised the alarm throughout the Mansion, summoning all the panicking maids, butlers and even the security guards to her at once, demanding what was wrong.

It had taken all the patience in the aqua haired girl to calm the horde of panicking people and assure them nothing was wrong with her, physically _and _mentally.

And here she was, back in the safe haven which was her room, accompanied by the one responsible to the pandemonium of the morning.

A snort from the corner of the room jerked Michiru back from her reminiscence of the not so nice past. The pale transparent spirit was finally settling down on snorts and silent chuckles, still eyeing the annoyed violinist cautiously.

Another heated glare and the apparition's snorts and chuckles trailed into nothingness.

"Ruka,"

The spirit gulped unconsciously. Transparent green eyes blinked guiltily as the owner turned to the caller.

"_Y-yes, Princess?"_

"That practical joke was terrific. Thank you." a full notch of sarcasm and bottled up anger. The violinist' face was one of impenetrable serenity, yet when she spoke it was with the viciousness of a hurling blizzard.

Ruka faintly wondered if it's possible to die twice.

* * *

O.O

* * *

It all happened a day ago, right in the wee hours of the morning. A deeply slumbering Michiru was rudely awakened by a loud obnoxious sound. It first sounded like someone's poor attempt to whistle and before long it turned out sounding like a pig that's got stuck in a toilet.

A pair of blue eyes then opened to meet transparent green eyes.

And that was when she got introduced to Ruka, the good-looking, slightly-annoying, childish apparition that hung around her ever since their first glimpse of each other's eyes. And wreaking havoc all the while.

Michiru had spent most of her free time following with her meeting with the apparition to study more about ghosts.

And the first thing she'd look up on the internet was how to get rid of one.

She'd tried everything from sprinkling- no, more like spraying, the apparition with holy water, and it didn't affect one bit. It only turned her room to a small swimming pool and confused her maids to no end of her slightly strange behavior. The spirit was laughing the whole time and it was the reason why the violinist had thrown her bedside lamp at the apparition, to no avail as it went right through the target's head and smashed to pieces against the wall.

And that was when Michiru had enough of trying to get rid of Ruka and the start of the annoying friendship between the two.

Michiru let out a sigh as she lifted her sapphire eyes off the thick book she was currently trying to read.

"Ruka," the apparition, who was floating around the violinist's room while making faces at her, blinked at the call "can you, _please, _stop doing that?"

The apparition pouted childishly and huffed, floating down to sit crossed leg across from Michiru in her comfy queen-sized bed.

"_But I'm bored,_" the blonde spirit complained in a whiny voice _"and you're no fun at all."_

Michiru fought the twitching in her eye as she closes her book with a sigh "Well, I do have something important to read after all."

Ruka cocked a transparent blonde head and blinked _"What are you reading anyway?" _the spirit float towards Michiru as emerald eyes gazed down at the cover of the book. A frown then graces the pale handsome face.

" '_Oxford Guide to Classical Music'," _the spirit reads, husky voice echoed in Michiru's mind _"you study music?"_

The aqua-haired girl realized she might as well stop reading now since she had a feeling that she might be playing 20 question with Ruka now that the spirit succumbs to curiosity. Gently, Michiru laid the book on her side before she met the apparition's slightly eerie emerald eyes.

"Yes, I'm taking Music in Tokyo University of Arts and Music," the violinist pondered for a second before continuing "ne, Ruka. Can I ask you something?"

"_Shoot,"_ the spirit replied nonchalantly, lounging with both hands behind blonde head in mid-air.

"Are you a guy or a girl?" the spirit fell comically from the relaxed position and went through the bed in shock. Michiru blinked in surprise.

"Ara…"

"_I'm fully female, dammit!," _furious transparent blonde head stick out of the bed accompanied by a fist shaking in the violinist's direction _"thought you had enough sense to know!!"_

Michiru had to suppress a smile at the red hue that tinted the spirit's face "but your appearance says otherwise. Or is it a pleasure to you to cross dress?" she eyed Ruka's figure slowly as the apparition flopped down in front of the violinist in her previous fashion. A white baggy shirt with the top button undone and black slacks and a black leather boots. Not the usual pick of clothing for a woman.

"_How do I know? I was like this when I woke up!" _The spirit crosses her arms in annoyance. Something in the sentence made Michiru frown in confusion.

"Woke…up?" the blonde nodded slowly at the question "what do you mean?"

Ruka frown as a hand unconsciously scratched her tousled blonde head _"I don't really know. I don't remember anything. The last thing I remembered was waking up in your room and staring down at your eyes." _ A frustrated huff came from the blonde. This only triggered Michiru's curiosity.

"You mean, you don't know where you came from? Or why you end up here?" the questions were answered by shook of head from the blonde.

"_I didn't remember anything apart of my name. Ruka, or I think that's my name…" _doubt and sadness began to cloud the emerald eyes, making the violinist's heart ache at the sight. The spirit looks so sad…

"C-can I do anything to help?" Michiru find herself saying, hands tightening on her bed sheet as emerald met sapphire.

Ruka shook her head and shrug at the same time _"I don't know. The first thing I want to find out is why I'm awaken from the dead, and I don't think you can help me with that."_ The aqua haired girl nodded in agreement, that question was only for Ruka to answer.

"So, you're dead then?" the question was asked softly, as the though the asker was afraid to hurt the blonde's feelings.

Ruka grinned mischievously, apparently not taking the question personally _"I guess so. I mean, I'm a spirit- ghost now right? Why else could I be a ghost if I'm not dead?" _the sadness and doubt that once clouded the apparition's eyes vanished in a flash and Michiru cant help but smiled at the return of Ruka's impish childishness.

"I think you're more of a poltergeist, actually."

"_Whaaaat?" _feeling insulted, the blonde screeched, eyes wide in disbelief _"Poltergeists are ugly- don't you dare compare me to them! h-hey, stop laughing, damn woman!"_

Michiru's crystal laughter filled the room as the object of the laughter only crossed her arms in mild annoyance, lips twitching as though fighting not to join in laughing.

The violinist wont let the conversation that had taken place disappear from her mind, though. Helping Ruka find the reason why she'd awaken in Michiru's room in the first place will help both the spirit and Michiru at the same time, she knew it.

What Michiru doesn't know however, were the two maids that stood outside her room with ears on the door. Both maids had wide eyes and looked at each other in alarm. What is the matter with their Ojou-sama?

* * *

**A/U: **Oh-ho, a mystery to flavor the story. Anyone can guess Haruka's background? I'll have e-cookies ready for those who can XP.

Drop a review if you please, that'll help me in updating faster. See you later!


	3. Here Comes Trouble?

**ONE MOMENT IN TIME**

* * *

**Review Replies**

**Kai-chan14: **sorry for the long wait, but here I am!! Enjoy xp

**Lostinhersong: **oh, I will. Coz its been a while since I get to mess up with Haruka . Enjoy the next chapter!

**t: **lol,glad you like it xp. Thanks for waiting, the next chapter is finally here! Xp

**RubyNury: **eh? Is there such movie? I never know O.o. Thanks for reading by the way, and enjoy!

**Reader458: **thank you! And to be honest, the mystery is puzzling me too, lol. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**ami: **EHH?? How come I never knew there was a movie like that? But wow, you were so close in your guess you had me scared for a while there O,O. But, Haruka is not a racer, unfortunately . No worries, here's some cookies for you!! –Throw cinnamon cookies right at cha-. Enjoy the next chapter!

**Petiyaka: **hey, it's been a while! Yes, she is one malicious ghost. Honestly, if I'm in Michiru's shoes I'll probably be dead from heart failure O,O. anyway, thanks for reviewing!

And to those who reviewed chapter 1, **thank you **very much and I'm sorry for not being able to reply. This chapter is for you guys, lurkers and reviewers alike. Enjoy!

**Author's notes : **not beta'ed. Proofread only. Read ahead X).

**Disclaimer : **Dammit its not mine! Argh!

* * *

"_Where are you going?" _Michiru looked up at the blonde spirit hovering over her. Emerald eyes twinkled in curiosity and a hint of impishness could be seen in them, like the mischievous smirk on her face wasn't enough.

The violinist smiled "I have a class at 9, Ruka," her sapphire eyes twinkles "a _boring _lecture about classical music. Do you want to come with?" For the last 2 days Ruka had stuck onto Michiru 24/7 (except to the bathroom, where Michiru made sure the apparition was nowhere near the room), there's one thing that was very clear to aqua haired girl. The apparition hated boredom.

The aqua haired girl could see the big twitch of Ruka's left eye and she had to bit her lower lip to stop her from laughing. Other than boredom, Ruka can't take it well if she's being laugh at. The apparition will frown deeply; cross her eyes and disappear from sight, yet Michiru would know that Ruka was still around from the low grumbling in the room.

Back to the present, Ruka was still silently contemplating to come with Michiru to the lecture or not. The violinist could even hear the apparition's gear working hard. Then, Ruka let out a sigh.

"_I might as well come with," _the blonde spirit said dejectedly, curling her arms behind her back in the usual relaxed pose _"It's not like I can stay away from you after all."_

Aquamarine eyebrows lift up in confusion "you can't stand away from me?" a twinkle in those sapphire eyes and Ruka found herself groaning out loud "Araa…I didn't know that you like me like that, Ruka." A wink, and the spirit's jaw drop, before she regained back her composure, an arrogant smile upon the handsome pale face.

"_Or is it you that like me like that, princess?" _the last word were spoken so affectionately that it made Michiru blush at once and the girl's knees to buckle.

Michiru could only turn her head away in embarrassment as the spirit's laughter rang around the room. She couldn't help but sneak a glance at the laughing spirit as she felt butterflies flutter in her middle. Is it normal to feel like this?

0,0

"Honestly Ruka, remind me not to bring you to anymore lectures from now on."

The blonde spirit grinned so widely her face might split and turned to the graceful girl she was walking (hovering?) beside with _"Why? Don't tell me you didn't enjoy my performance?"_

Michiru had to stifle her giggles at that. Not enjoying? Certainly not! Throughout the boring lecture, Ruka didn't even last 15 minutes before whining that she's bored. Being the only one that can hear her, Michiru didn't say a thing other than shrugging her shoulders subtly. What could she do? She's in class after all…

And thus, the spirit chose to entertain herself and Michiru in the progress. Ruka fiddled with the projector's switch, turning it off and on repeatedly until the Professor surrendered and prefer to teach using the blackboard. Not only that, the spirit also blew off the chalk dusts, played with the light switch, flew the stack of papers off the table…all in all, even the ever composed Michiru had to bite her tongue to stop herself from bursting out in laughter. The usually boring lecture wasn't boring anymore, and despite other pranks Ruka pulled along the lesson, the lecture went quite smoothly. Michiru had never attended such amusing lecture ever in her life before.

"_Okay, what's with the smiles?" _the aqua haired girl was pulled out from her thoughts to see emerald eyes stared back into her own. She noticed that Ruka's blonde hair seems to glow into a bright gold because of the sun.

Only when the apparition cocked her head did Michiru answered with a smile "nothing. Just reminiscing the past." '_Here it goes again' _she thought when she felt her stomach lurch at the sight of Ruka's charming boyish grin. Honestly, it's so not healthy to be feeling like this…

"_Of course," _the blonde apparition said confidently, an air of confident arrogance around her _"by the past, you meant me, am I right?" _and by the pinkish hue on the violinist's face, the blonde laughed good-naturedly.

"Arrogant flirt," the violinist shook her head with a sigh as she resumed her walk towards the car park, where her driver was waiting. She had a violin practice after this, and her driver usually waited on the car park 15 minutes before her lecture ended.

"_Hey, I maybe a flirt, but I sure am not arrogant…" _the blonde mumbled somewhere behind her. Michiru gave a small smile before turning to the apparition and raising her eyebrows, silently asking 'are you quite, quite sure?' as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Ruka blinked at the silent question and turned her head away, huffing and answering Michiru's question. The blonde's confidence was on the verge of arrogance, and if she was alive, she would've ticked people off with that attitude of hers. Other than ticked off, Michiru find Ruka's confidence to be endearing. The spirit's refreshing attitude was the fresh breeze to Michiru's usually dull days. It was amusing to see the blonde's antics and the aqua haired girl, unconsciously, grown to love the presence of the blonde.

"Michiru?"

Michiru turned towards the call and found herself face to face with a handsome man "ah, Morinaga-san. Good afternoon." She gave a small bow which was returned at once, albeit more enthusiastically by the man.

Ruka frowned at the newcomer. He was about 180cm in height, towering over Michiru with dark hair that jutted nicely framing his youthful face and clear grey eyes that was almost metallic. The spirit could see clearly that this man was the type that was ogled over by girls wherever he goes. And the same man was clearly smitten with the violinist Ruka had been hanging out with.

Emerald eyes narrowed in distaste.

"Ah, it's okay to call me Kouki, by the way," the man said confidently (Ruka snorted) "that's okay, Michiru."

"But it is not polite to do so, is it? As I am not close enough to have the privilege of calling you so," the violinist politely turned down the offer and at this the blonde spirit gave a 'ha, ha' smugly.

Morinaga Kouki blinked and lost his composure for a moment, no one had refused anything from him before "but, you let me call you Michiru, right?"

Michiru only smiled politely and Ruka, feeling totally pissed as hell, chose this moment to flip her middle fingers at the poor lad who can't see her. Michiru's elbow twitched, itching to elbow the blonde of the side yet she remember that it wont do a thing since her elbow would go through and it would end up in her falling graciously to the ground. Best not to do that and lost her cool.

"Uhm," feeling totally awkward, Kouki looked hard for a come back "ah, are you done for today? I was wondering to take you out for lunch, if you have the time."

Emerald eyes bulged out _"whaaaaat? She has plans, you idiot!!" _the pissed off blonde hissed at the spiky haired man who can't hear her.

"Unfortunately, I have to decline. I have violin practice after this, my apologies, Morinaga-san." Kouki's face fell, Ruka cheered and Michiru tried hard not to roll her eyes.

And after a few more exchange in which Ruka spend by glaring at the man, Kouki finally left.

Michiru turned to her companion with raised eyebrows, which rose even higher when she saw Ruka with a frown on her face, arms folded tightly looking away from her.

"Ruka, what's wrong?" the aqua haired girl found the apparition was more than bothered by Kouki's presence "have you met Morinaga-san before?"

"_No way." _The blonde answered petulantly, still not looking at Michiru. The latter blinked.

"Then why are you so bothered? Did he offend you in some way?"

Ruka's gaze flitted at her for a moment, before it went away again _"…he called you 'Michiru'."_

Well, Michiru didn't expect this at all. Was Ruka…_jealous?_

Her smile widening, Michiru headed for the kill "Ruka, are you jealous?"

A widened pair of emerald eyes, a huff and a mutter of _'I don't like him!' _all meant yes to the violinist. And that made the smile on her face widened without making her grinning like an idiot. She decide to drop this for the moment, the blonde was starting to be difficult.

"Come on," she said as she resume her pace to the car park, not the least surprised when Ruka speed up to hover beside her, slightly closer than usual.

0.0

Aquamarine eyes glanced at the wrist watch for the 3rd time in 10 minutes.

"Tateno-san's late," Michiru informed Ruka with a sigh. Relieving her boredom, Ruka had succumbs to her curiosity and was playing with a kitten, who was unfortunate enough to have its tail tugged by something unseen.

Ruka looked up from her playmate (plaything?) _"I can see that," _and resumed back to what she was doing. Michiru sighed and let her eyes wandered.

"Setsuna!" she called, happiness seeped in her voice. This made Ruka look up to see a long haired woman walking over to Michiru with a little girl holding to the former's hand. Curious, she went over to hang out (**AU: **no pun intended xo).

"Michiru, it's been a while." The woman called Setsuna smiled at the violinist, Ruka noticed that the woman's garnet eyes twinkled. Seems like this 'Setsuna' really cared about Michiru a lot, Ruka mused. Feeling like she was being watched, Ruka looked down at the source of the piercing eyes directed at her.

A pair of wide violet eyes stared unblinkingly up at her as their eyes met.

'_Shit, this brat can see me?!' _Ruka was more than surprised even more so when the dark haired girl speaks out,

"Who are you?"

The two women's conversation halted and one pair of eyes turned to the little girl while another drift up to the dumbstruck apparition.

* * *

**AU : **ho-ho. The mystery starts now! I guess everyone would know who the little girl is, right? –grin-. Watch out for the next chapter, I think more of Ruka's past will be revealed, lol. Review please, and see you guys later!


	4. 2 plus 2 Makes 4 in the Secret

**ONE MOMENT IN TIME**

* * *

**Author's notes : **¾ of this chapter was sitting on my hard drive for half a year before I manage to write the conclusion. Anyway- hope you enjoy the read! Don't forget to review as usual, you'll make my day xD.

**Disclaimer : **nu-uh, not mine.

* * *

"Who are you?"

The two women's conversation halted and one pair of eyes turned to the little girl while another drift up to the dumbstruck apparition.

If it was possible, Ruka paled even more. The kid's eyes were staring right into her, the sharp gaze as though sizing up the apparition.

Ruka immediately turned to Michiru who more or less looked as surprised at her _"I honestly don't know this kid, or why, but she can see me!!" _

The violinist frowned, Ruka sounds almost scared of Hotaru. And if she never met the little girl before, what would cause her to be so?

"Ne, ne, Setsuna nee-chan, who is that nii-chan hanging near Michiru-san?" the little girl known as Hotaru tugged at Setsuna's hand, which she was clutching tightly at the moment, yet her eyes never leaving Ruka. The jade haired woman could only raise her eyebrows and looked around for the 'nii-chan' Hotaru spoke of.

"Hotaru, there's no nii-chan here," Setsuna was bewildered, she look up at Michiru with a helpless expression before returning to her niece "it's only us. You, me and Michiru."

The little girl finally looked at Setsuna with a hint of a frown "no! There's a nii-chan! And he's there!!" she points one short stubby finger at the space right next to Michiru, where Ruka was currently hovering at.

"_I'm very much a female, friggin' dammit!" _apparently forgetting about the main issue, Ruka let out a cuss and defended herself out of habit. The violinist had to fight down a smile at this.

Hotaru lets out small squeak before hiding behind Setsuna's long legs "and he's mad at me…" the little girl said in a small scared voice. The jade haired woman could only blink at this and turned to the violinist for help. Apparently, Michiru also have no idea what to do.

The violinist tried her best to act normal as she lowered herself down to the little girl's level "Hotaru-chan, which nii-chan did you mean? Was it the one with the black hair?" she asks, referring to Kouki while Ruka gave an unnecessary huff somewhere behind her.

The little girl tilted her head and looked at Michiru as though the violinist wore her bra upside down "no. He's blonde with green eyes, scary, rude and he's transparent."

At this you could practically hear Ruka's jaw fell to the ground with an impressive crash and the inner Michiru screech in shock. Oh and there's some crows cawing behind Setsuna's head for the lack of information in the tall woman's part.

After regaining back her composure, Ruka hovered down to Michiru's level and stared at Hotaru straight on the eyes _"tell her, then." _She said to the surprise of the violinist.

Michiru widened her eyes at the apparition beside her "Are you sure?" she asked in a low voice, at which Ruka nodded confidently.

"_Maybe she knows how or why I ended up this way," _the apparition pondered as she straightened up, aware of Hotaru's piercing eyes on her every move _"She's able to see me, anyway. The first other than you. It won't hurt to try, right?" _the aqua haired girl nodded in agreement. The two of them had talked about this, about getting to the bottom of the mystery of Ruka's sudden haunting. The blonde wants to make sure that she was not one of those victims to some tragic love stories. She hated those.

"Um, are you alright Michiru?" the still clueless Setsuna managed to pull Michiru back to the land of the living "you're talking to…thin air." The tanned woman sounded a bit scared. None of her companions is showing signs of good mental health with them talking about a 'nii-chan' who doesn't exist.

The violinist took a deep breath before she stood up and looked at Setsuna with renewed vigor. The latter flinch, thinking that the former might want to devour her.

"Setsuna," Michiru began confidently, albeit a little quietly so none can hear the conversation "I want to tell you something."

An elegant jade eyebrow lifts up in confusion "okay…"

"But whatever you do, _don't faint."_ The last 2 words were put in a strong emphasis for Michiru knew of Setsuna's fear of ghosts, may it be blonde and handsome or not.

The tanned woman only nods silently. Hotaru giggled at her expression while Ruka gave a careless smirk. The blonde bend down to whisper on the youngest one's ear.

"_Bet you a Jack Daniels she's gonna scream." _

Hotaru blinked innocently at the blonde apparition "…who's Jack Daniels?" the blonde blinked, yet she couldn't say anything since Setsuna's sudden shout of '_what?!_' filled the air.

Michiru let out a sigh at the sight of her paling friend "yes, like I told you, there's a ghost hanging around me. And apparently Hotaru can see her too."

The aforementioned girl tilted her head in wonder "nii-chan's a girl?" At which Ruka groaned out loud.

Seconds go by slowly.

Stare.

Stare.

Blink blink.

"Are you quite, quite sure? I mean, Hotaru's a child after all…" though Setsuna doesn't seem to be sure herself. The aforementioned black haired girl pouted at her words.

Ruka decided to take measures to her own hands. She dived at the tanned woman.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAA-!!!" birds flew off in alarm and glasses alike breaking in after effect as Setsuna screamed like a mad woman in the middle of the campus.

"Ruka!!" Michiru scolded harshly at the blonde who immediately dropped the skirt she lifted up.

"_Sorry, can't help it." _The blonde grinned sheepishly while rubbing the back of her neck as Hotaru's laughter filled the air.

0-0-0

After a hassle of getting a shocked Setsuna to calm down (Ruka got a healthy dose of the rare Kaioh Michiru glare all the while) the four of them (apparition included) ended in a café near campus. Michiru received a call from her driver telling her that the car broke down and she might have to wait for half an hour or so, which the violinist didn't mind at all.

Michiru sipped her café latte serenely while Setsuna stared blankly at the swirl of green tea latte on her cup across the table. The children (once again, Ruka included ) were busy laughing and giggling, earning shocked looks from surroundings.

"You," the violinist looked up at her friend who's making weird hand gestures "you're not joking, right?"

"No. and you knew that better than anyone." Setsuna groaned as she remembered that Michiru's apparition friend had flashed her underwear for the world to see.

"How come only you and Hotaru can see it?" the tanned woman continued, eager on forgetting the embarrassing event.

"Her," Michiru corrected automatically as she sipped on her drink.

"Him," Hotaru added with a determined pout.

"_I'm a womaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!" _this seems to be Ruka's last straw as then and there she ripped open her blouse and showed her bra-clad figure to the two people who could see her.

Hotaru's eyes bugged out in shock and Michiru uncharacteristically spit out her **hot** drink.

Setsuna, however, was drenched courtesy of the violinist. 'God must hate me' she wailed inside as her musician best friend apologized endlessly.

15 minutes later, dry and de-caffeine, Setsuna brought back up the topic they're currently discussing without much disturbance.

"So, um. How again did only you two can see - -" two pair of mouths open to correct the tanned woman, who sped out to avoid being drenched once more "- - the apparition? Again, I haven't even heard of someone being haunted by a ghost before, unless- -oh my god!" two pair of garnet eyes widened comically and Michiru felt slightly alarmed.

"S-Setsuna? Are you alright?" the jade haired woman looked as though she had received words of wisdom from the Gods. Ruka and Hotaru sniggered at the expression on her face.

Setsuna turned to Michiru still with the wide eyed expression "you," she began with low trembling voice "you didn't kill anybody these few last weeks did you?"

At this Michiru knows not whether to laugh or cry as she herself was confused if Setsuna was joking or not.

0-0-0

Evening came and the violinist found herself slumped on her desk in her wide room. Today was just too much, she concluded. After the fiasco in the café, which included Setsuna drenched by hot café latte, Michiru decided she might call it a day and went home. It didn't go as smoothly as she'd wished though. Hotaru was crying, insisting she still wanted to play with 'nii-chan' and want to come with the violinist. Strangely, Ruka didn't make any comment about this; in fact, she looked slightly like Hotaru, slightly crestfallen to find that they have to part ways.

"_She's a good kid," _the apparition answered when Michiru asked about her solemn face on the way home. Perhaps Ruka was happy to have made another friend? Someone other than Michiru? These thoughts brought an uncomfortable squelch on her middle and the aqua haired girl shook her head to rid of it.

"Ruka?" the violinist called out when she felt the room was quieter than usual.

"_I'm here," _the apparition called back from somewhere behind her. Michiru turned around to see Ruka sitting with both legs folded above the bed. She was fumbling with something in her shirt, no wonder she was quiet.

"What's wrong?" the apparition looked up as Michiru got close to where she was.

"_It's my shirt- I pulled on it too hard this afternoon, and the buttons split, agh!" _Frustrated, the blonde left the top 3 buttons on her shirt open. The violinist looked amused at this as she went to her dresser and took out a sewing box.

"Well, I would've offer to sew it back to you or give you a safety pin, but I don't think- - "

Ruka rolled her impressive green eyes almost lazily _"yeah, it might go right through me or something. It's fine, it's not like I feel cold or anything."_

No, but it might affect my sanity, the violinist thought inwardly as she saw how low the opened buttons is to the blonde's cleavage. But something other than cleavage on the blonde's chest made Michiru frown.

"Ruka, what's that on your chest?"

"_Huh? What's what?" _the apparition looked down on her chest where a gleaming blue pendant peeked out from inside her shirt. The expression she wore when she looked up to Michiru, however, was not appropriate for one to wear when asked about a pendant they're wearing.

"_Arararara, good girl Princess Michiru-chan is looking at my chest! Aww, dont worry, if you're a good girl I might let you take. A. Peek!" _the sultry look the apparition wore made blood rushed up to Michiru's face in record time.

Scowling lightly, Michiru tried to return to attention to the pendant "the pendant! I was talking about the pendant!"

Ruka still had that infuriating look on her face when she looked down at the pendant on her chest, which vanish immediately and replaced by a frown, much like what Michiru wore on her face.

"_What on earth is this?" _Ruka held it out so Michiru could see it too, the symbol on the back of the pendant "_and what's that? A W with a stick on the bottom?"_

The violinist gave a small snort as she squint her eyes to see the symbol on the transparent blue pendant. What she saw made her confused more than ever.

"_Whassat? A W that stands for Woman or something? I already know I am one." _Ruka kept on mumbling as she looked at the symbol upside down, squinting her eyes so hard as though it'll help her understand.

"No, it's not," the violinist's voice was quiet. The apparition looked at where the aqua haired girl is, hunched in her bed, reading something off a book "it's the symbol of the planet Neptune, Ruka."

This revelation didn't get any remark from the blonde apparition, who only frowned and landed on the bed right beside Michiru.

"_I don't get it." _Ruka said after moments of silence.

The violinist nodded in reply "I don't either," she said softly as she fingered the Neptune symbol on the page of the Roman Mythology Encyclopedia opened in front of her. From when she was little, she always felt she had a connection to the planet itself, and that was what spurred her interest on Roman Mythology. But then an apparition came to her bearing a pendant with the Neptune symbol on it. What could it mean? Is it some kind of a clue? Was she supposed to look for something?

Unknown to Michiru, Ruka was looking at her with a solemn look on her face. Her green eyes flickered with emotions, which disappeared as the owner blinked and looked away towards the darkened sky outside the window.

"_Who am I?" _the blonde voiced out softly, her words only for the gods to hear.

0-0-0

The man jerked as a slam came from behind him followed by curses in 3 languages. He peered slowly to his back, as though afraid to get caught.

"Everything alright, father?" he asked tentatively as he prepared himself to run if his father decided to throw the phone at him.

The grey haired man gave a growl and took a drag out of his pipe before answering "that bastard didn't pick up his phone! He's weaseling out of the deal!" the scowl he wore deepening the frightening look upon his face.

"B-but sir, it was only 2 days- - the deal was that he had a week of time, wasn't it?" the younger man shut his trap immediately when his father glowered at him.

The bulky man stood up from his desk and went to the window, where he glared to the passerby's on the road below. He was thinking hard, for what he wanted was priceless even more than the sport cars he had in his garage or the all the money he had in his bank account. What he wanted was something from the past. A malicious smile graced his face.

"I don't care. That pendant and its twin will be mine. Get a move on, Kouki, I want that bastard here in my office this time tomorrow. I'll make him a deal he wont refuse."

Morinaga Kouki's metallic grey eyes flickered with a smile before he replied "of course, father."


End file.
